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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22516612">Annette Fantine Dominic’s Absolutely Foolproof Guide on How to Woo the Cute Girl Who Works at Soap</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/green_piggy/pseuds/green_piggy'>green_piggy</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>bond writes for fe femslash 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(backflips wlw content at you), Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, FEFemslash2020, Femslash February, Femslash February 2020, Fluff, Genderfluid Annette Fantine Dominic, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Mutual Pining, Nonbinary Claude von Riegan, Pansexual Annette Fantine Dominic, Pansexual Lysithea von Ordelia, WOOOOOOOOOOO YEAH, back at it again at krispy kreme, background Mercedes/Ingrid, there is like NO angst or hurt/comfort in this one, this is like obvious af in the fic but THEY ARE ALL POST TIMESKIP AGES THANK YOU, yes sometimes i do amaze myself</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-02-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 10:28:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,980</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22516612</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/green_piggy/pseuds/green_piggy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>There’s a cute new girl working at Annette’s favourite cosmetics store. Annette, being Annette, naturally gets a crush of disastrous proportions.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>
  <i>"You're really strong," she had said. Lysithea's eyes widened, and so, of course, Annette had to immediately ruin it by saying: "Like a rock!"</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>“...A rock,” Lysithea repeated, voice flat.</i>
</p>
<p>
  <i>“A <b>really</b> strong rock!” Annette continued, because she had no regard for her own life. “Like… a boulder!”</i>
</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annette Fantine Dominic &amp; Mercedes von Martritz, Annette Fantine Dominic/Lysithea von Ordelia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>bond writes for fe femslash 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1630966</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>81</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>FE Femslash February 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Annette Fantine Dominic’s Absolutely Foolproof Guide on How to Woo the Cute Girl Who Works at Soap</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>happy femslash february y'all!!! this fic wasn't originally intended to be a part of it - but, hey! i finished it just in time for the start of it, and it's wlw, so why not include it? i'm hoping to write four more fics for this month, so look forward to those~</p>
<p>a few points on this fic:</p>
<p>- annette’s experience with gender very much reflects my own, i am shameless to say. Some days i’m like “YEAH I’M A WOMAN I LOVE BEING A WOMAN” and other days i will splice apart anyone who dares consider me as a girl. I ping pong between female and nonbinary more often than naesala ping pongs between sides. It’s Complicated™</p>
<p>- (if you don’t get the naesala reference do yourself a favour and play the tellius games the dolphin emulator costs ZERO DOLLARS)</p>
<p>- claude is afab who is nonbinary, but actually uses both they and he pronouns and doesn’t really care which ones are used. he uses exclusively they/them while working because it makes it 1000000 times easier to weed out the asshole customers. also he’s ace and aro no i will not take constructive criticism</p>
<p>- hilda and lorenz are the two supervisors, even though they don’t show up in this fic. working under them means you either have to work every second or else your supervisor will end you (lorenz) or you have to work super hard because your supervisor keeps slacking (hilda) - they’re both actually really hard workers and care a lot for their staff, it’s just not immediately apparent</p>
<p>- this entire fic may or may not have been inspired quite heavily by my extremely queer panic the last time i went to lush and a really Really cute girl assisted me. i'll leave it up to you to decide</p>
<p>all of that aside - hope you enjoy! :3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Annette splurged out in exactly two things; sweets and skincare. The former, she always got from a discount from her best friend's little sweet shop - Mercie made the <em> best </em>sweets, and Annette would physically throw down anyone who disagreed with all sixty point six inches she had in height. The point six was very important. She'd also throw down with anyone who forgot that.</p>
<p>The latter, she got from a cute little shop called the Lovely Deer. It was a place that prided itself as being ethical and sustainable. While Annette had no doubts that it was probably hiding some kind of absolutely horrible secret, in this society, she had very limited options to help control her eczema and stop her skin from becoming a weeping, blistering mess.</p>
<p>Perhaps she could have dabbled in homemade products, but, as a student, she had precious little free time.</p>
<p>And so, on a dreary Thursday afternoon, the one day of the week Annette finished before four, she dragged herself downtown to the Lovely Deer.</p>
<p>Even if she didn't know their names, she was a frequent enough customer that she recognised most of the staff. There was a man whose laughter boomed out into the streets and stood wider and taller than the entrance, like the world's fiercest teddy bear. A boy who she always saw with his sleeves rolled up, specks of paint and lather clinging to his fingers as he artistically arranged the soaps into cute little displays. A woman who near-obsessively picked up rubbings of soaps and even a whiff of waste material, chugging them off to the backroom to be used. She even saw who she was pretty sure was the owner, a person with deliberately wild hair and lax words, their wide smiles and icy eyes vividly reminding Annette of a friend from high school.</p>
<p>Wherever Sylvain was now, she hoped, <em> sincerely, </em>that he'd stopped being such a misogynistic prick. He’d been nice enough to her, but...</p>
<p>Anyway. He was not relevant in this story.</p>
<p>Who <em> was </em>relevant was the new staff member at the Lovely Deer.</p>
<p>She was. Well. Lovely. She had a shock of white hair that didn't seem to be dyed, but she barely looked older than Annette did, and Annette got questioned when buying medicine. What <em> really </em> caught Annette's attention were her eyes. They were a curious shade, somewhere between pink and purple. Amethyst? No, that was too purple. Opal? No, too pale. <em> Rhodolite? </em>That was—</p>
<p>"I don't mean to be rude," came a very rude voice, "but did you <em> need </em>something?"</p>
<p>Annette squealed and glanced up. Said girl she'd been daydreaming over was standing in front of her, arms crossed, scowling. Not at all customer friendly. Annette glanced at the card dangling from her lanyard.</p>
<p>
  <em> Lysithea. She/her. </em>
</p>
<p><em> Oh no, </em>went the woman loves woman part of Annette's pansexual brain.</p>
<p>
  <em> Oh. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em> No. </em>
</p>
<p>"Your name sounds like a gemstone," she blurted out. She immediately wanted all the soaps to come drown her in their lather. The soaps here didn't even <em> produce </em>that much lather. Would all of them be enough? Should Annette just dive her head into the row of ice they placed the face masks on and allow her shame to suffocate her?</p>
<p>"I. Uh." Lysithea's pale face had gone rather red. "That's—”</p>
<p>"Sorry, please forgive her," drawled a voice. It was the manager, who shot Annette a wide smile as they gently rested a hand on Lysithea's shoulder. "She's only just started out, and, well. Manners have never been her strong suit."</p>
<p>"Claude, I will not hesitate to shove every single Dragon's Breath soap down your—”</p>
<p>"You see!" they interrupted brightly. "Awful manners, really." They noggied Lysithea's scalp, grinning. "But she's a top notch worker."</p>
<p>Lysithea shoved their hand off, her blush deepening. <em> "Anyone </em>would be, compared to you!"</p>
<p>"You can't say that to your own manager. I'm wounded!"</p>
<p>"It's okay, really!" Annette insisted, holding her hands up. "I don't mind!"</p>
<p>“Ah, excellent, then.” They gave them a friendly smile before scuttling over to the till, where a middle-aged woman with <em> that </em>kind of haircut, the side-bob combined with a murderous scowl, looked ready to commit murder with a sharpened soap bar.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry about that,” Lysithea murmured, watching them go before turning back to Annette. She had a slight blush, one that was dusting the tips of her ears - and she had such <em> cute </em> little earrings. One was shaped like a moon, the other like a star, both of them dangling and swaying slightly. Lysithea brushed back the bangs of her snow-white hair with her hand, which was almost as pale as her hair. It was just a shade too light to be healthy, and Annette was really, <em> really </em> overthinking this and <em> oh Sothis what did she just say. </em></p>
<p>Annette gave a nervous giggle. Those usually worked.</p>
<p>Sure enough, Lysithea gave her a smile, although it was awfully close to one of those “oh goddess I hate customers so much why must you exist” smiles. Or maybe Annette was overthinking things. Again.</p>
<p>“It’s fine!” Annette squeaked, remembering that words were usually used in conversation.</p>
<p>Lysithea crossed her arms "So," she said. "Do you know what you're looking for?"</p>
<p>Annette got the exact same facemask every time. She'd been frequenting this place ever since her first year at uni. She came in, grabbed it off the shelf, and sometimes brought in a stack of empty containers to give her weeping wallet some reprieve when she traded them in for a free facemask.</p>
<p>So, she had <em> no </em>idea why she opened her mouth and said:</p>
<p>"I'm not really sure. Could you help me?"</p>
<p>Lysithea's face brightened.</p>
<p>“Of course!” She skipped on her feet effortlessly, with grace and skill that Annette could only long for. Her hand ghosted Annette’s bare arm. She shivered and felt goosebumps rise in the spot where she’d touched.</p>
<p>...Oh, man, she was in <em> so </em> deep. Like, <em> really </em>deep. Deeper than Ingrid’s stomach.</p>
<p>“Just sit on this stool over here…”</p>
<p>Annette did so jerkily, almost sliding herself off the stool entirely. Were it not for Lysithea’s arm catching her back at the last second, she would have done just that.</p>
<p>“S-sorry!” Annette giggled nervously. Again. She’d <em> just </em> giggled like that. Get yourself <em> together, </em>Annette.</p>
<p>“You okay?” Lysithea asked, peering at her with beautiful purple-or-maybe-pink eyes that shone with concern.</p>
<p>“I’m fine!” Annette gasped. “I don’t know what’s gotten into me, sorry…”</p>
<p>She knew exactly what it was, but it was at <em> least </em> ten different levels of creepy to tell a girl you’d just met - and a retail worker at that! - that she was ridiculously cute. Besides, she probably had plenty of people calling her cute already. How could she <em> not? </em></p>
<p>Lysithea didn’t seem annoyed, though. If anything, her small smile was fond. “Just wait here for a minute. Feel free to take your bag off. I’m going to get some face masks."</p>
<p>Truthfully, the next few minutes were nothing more than a blur for Annette's poor heart. All she could focus on was the softness of Lysithea's fingers as she dabbed and rubbed various creams onto Annette's hand to test them out. Her fingers were cold yet gentle, a strange feeling that Annette missed every time they were gone.</p>
<p>"So, which ones do you want?" Lysithea asked with a smile.</p>
<p>Annette's eyes gazed over the various bars and tubs on the little table in front of her. She couldn't remember which one applied to which. Her mind was still lingering on Lysithea's touch.</p>
<p>Then, she came up with a solution that would Lysithea beaming and Annette’s wallet weeping.</p>
<p>"I'll take all of them!" she chirped. "Oh, but probably not this one—” She pointed to the las one Lysithea had used— “can only afford so much, y'know?"</p>
<p>Oh, goddess, she was calling their stuff expensive. Lysithea was going to get annoyed, Annette was going to piss her off—</p>
<p>But she just laughed. It was a small little noise, like a bell chiming in the winter breeze. "I get that," she murmured. "I'm a student myself. Just get what you can afford."</p>
<p>"You don't mind..?"</p>
<p>Lysithea raised her eyebrows. "Why should I?"</p>
<p>"I-I mean, I'm insulting you guys—"</p>
<p>Her eyebrows shot higher. "Not at all! Don't be ridiculous!"</p>
<p>"Thanks…"</p>
<p>So Annette gave her a smile and regretfully left the Gloucester's Gleam facemask on the table. When she went to the till with what she had, she noticed Lysithea ducking into the backroom, and couldn't help but smile. The rustle of a paper bag snapped her attention back to Claude, who was watching her, their face a strange emotion she couldn't identify. Amused, perhaps, were it not for the gears she could practically see whirring behind their eyes.</p>
<p>"Have a good day," they said, still smiling. "And thanks. It's nice seeing Lysithea so happy."</p>
<p>"Ah…" Annette scratched her cheek. "I didn't—"</p>
<p>"You did plenty, c'mon." They handed the bag to her. "See you soon!"</p>
<p>Annette beamed. "You too. Have a good day!"</p>
<p>It was on her way out that she heard frantic heel clicks behind her, followed by a tap on her shoulder. Annette whirled around, heart pounding, bag crinkling in her fingers. She had to remind herself that this was real life, not some horror game set in a cosmetics store. Now <em> that </em>was a novel idea.</p>
<p>... Clearly she'd been spending one too many late nights watching films with Mercie.</p>
<p>"T-there you are!" Lysithea huffed, hands on her knees as she breathed in deeply. The store wasn't that large. Even if she'd sprinted from the backroom, it wasn't that far a distance. Definitely not enough for the average person to be so winded.</p>
<p>Still, Annette was polite, and perhaps she was just overthinking this. She stood there and smiled, watching for her to catch her breath.</p>
<p>"...Yeah?"</p>
<p>"I - I'm glad I got you!" Glancing away, her cheeks reddening, Lysithea thrust out a paper bag. "It's - um… just… consider it to be a freebie, okay? For being such a lovely customer. At the, uh, Lovely Deer!"</p>
<p>"O-oh." Annette's brain stopped. Numbly, she took the bag and peeked inside, gasping when the curly, almost haughty font of the <em> 'Gloucester's Gleam' </em> label stared back at her. "I can't - are you sure - is this <em> allowed—" </em></p>
<p>"It's allowed!" A pause. "I think. You're, um, the first person I've given this to."</p>
<p>"Oh…" Annette clutched it to her chest, and, for some inexplicable reason, felt ready to burst into tears there and then.</p>
<p>When Annette didn’t say anything, mainly due to the aforementioned point of trying very hard not to cry, Lysithea’s gleeful face crumbled. “I-I mean, if you don’t—”</p>
<p>“I love it!” Annette rushed out. “Thank you! You really, <em> really </em>shouldn’t have had.”</p>
<p>“I’m glad you like it!” Lysithea beamed again. She had an <em> adorable </em>smile. And dimples! “Have a good day!”</p>
<p>Annette gave a little wave from the store entrance. A teenager shoved past her with an impatient scowl. “You too! Have a great day!”</p>
<p>“Have a fantastic day!”</p>
<p>“Have a <em> brilliant </em>day!”</p>
<p>“Have the best day ever or I’ll drown you in bath bombs!” Lysithea yelled.</p>
<p>A beat of silence.</p>
<p>“...I will!” Annette squeaked out, then bolted before she could embarrass herself any further. She didn’t dare glance back to see Lysithea’s face.</p>
<p>Darting down the street to ensure she didn’t miss her bus, Annette pulled out her phone as soon as she got to the stop.</p>
<p><em> "Mercie," </em> she texted frantically, <em> "meet up tomorrow pls i am DYING". </em></p>
<p>Almost immediately, she got a reply of: <em> "no problem at all! :)".</em></p><hr/>
<p>It was the quiet lull between lunch and rush hour when Annette got to Mercie’s little shop, that pocket of time that nobody quite knew how to describe. Traditional workers were doing their usual hours, students were still at school, leaving only a few people that didn’t seem to pertain to any particular norms of society.</p>
<p>Annette, being - well, <em> Annette - </em>certainly did not fall into any of those. Taking a deep breath, she tugged on her backpack and pushed open the door. The bell overhead gently tinkled as she did so.</p>
<p>There were only a couple of other customers in, both of them huddled around a single high table and watching a video together on a phone. Mercie herself was at the table closest to the counter, and the smile on her face was warm as Annette approached with a smile of her own.</p>
<p>Mercie took a look over her, and must have seen the lack of a skirt, for she stapled her fingers together and asked: "Not a girl day?"</p>
<p>Annette let out a sigh as she dropped into the chair, dragging a hand over her face. "Definitely not."</p>
<p>“Oh, dear.” Mercie slid forward a steaming cup of sweet-apple tea. Annette took it in her hands, smiling as her chest loosened at its gentle warmth. How Mercie always had her favourite tea ready at exactly the moment she sat down, at the perfect temperature, would never fail to amaze Annette. She always seemed to be prepared with a good cup of something cosy and at least a tray of biscuits. “Do you want to talk about it?”</p>
<p>Another thing about Mercie was how non-judgemental she was. You could tell her you’d killed someone, and she’d just smile and help you hide the body. Probably. Annette was, for quite a few reasons, not willing to test their friendship <em> that </em>much. “Nah. Thanks, though.”</p>
<p>Mercie smiled at Annette’s own smile. “No problem.”</p>
<p>“Mmmm-hmmmm!” Annette took a small sip and allowed the sweetness to wash down her throat. “I don’t know how you always have this ready in time.”</p>
<p>Mercie’s smile was secretive. “Oh, I have my ways.” She pushed the tray towards Annette. “Want some snacks?”</p>
<p>They sat there for a while, sharing stories about nothing and anything as they munched on Mercie’s many snacks. Annette knew fully well that Mercie was deliberately luring her into a false sense of security, in that subtle, smiling way she always did, but she couldn’t bring herself to mind.</p>
<p>When she wiped away the crumbs of her final banana muffin with her sleeve, that was when Mercie struck. All she did was lean forward with her arms loosely crossed, hands resting under her elbows as she smiled.</p>
<p>“So,” she said, her airy voice sounding almost like a song. “What’s bothering you?”</p>
<p>“Right to the point, huh…” Annette rubbed the back of her neck. “It’s nothing serious, honestly.”</p>
<p>“So then you shouldn’t have any problem sharing it.” Mercie’s eyes slid shut with her smile. “Hmm?”</p>
<p>Annette sighed fondly.</p>
<p>“There’s…” She felt herself blush. “Oh, this is <em> so </em>embarrassing…”</p>
<p>“Oh?” Mercie tilted her head. Her voice was quiet but teasing. “Let me guess. Dear little Annie’s got a crush—”</p>
<p>“You don’t need to say it so loudly!” Annette yelped, so loudly herself that the couple at the table stopped their video and glanced over at them. Annette felt herself shrivel and curl up on herself at their judging looks. They were <em> totally </em>judging her.</p>
<p>“Ignore them,” Mercie said with a small squeeze of her hand. “I’m right, aren’t I?”</p>
<p>“You are…” Annette grumbled. “I don’t know how you do it. But… yeah.” Annette couldn’t help her smile. “She’s around my age, I think? She’s so smart! And cute. She was kinda grumpy, but only for a bit. I mean, if <em> I </em>was working retail, I’d be too.”</p>
<p>“Oh? Does she work in the Lovely Deer?”</p>
<p>“Yeah!” A beat of silence. “Wait. <em> How </em>do you know that?”</p>
<p>Mercie rested her chin in the cup of her hand. “You don’t visit that many stores apart from there and my own.”</p>
<p>“Well, I <em> am </em>poor.”</p>
<p>“Aren’t we all?” Mercie asked far-too-cheerfully.</p>
<p>“True…” Annette sighed, plonking her chin on both of her hands. “She was <em> really </em>cute… I hope she’s there next time I go.”</p>
<p>“Oh, I think I know who you’re talking about,” Mercie smiled. Only she would be able to get an idea of who a person was from such vague descriptions as <em> ‘cute’ </em> and <em> ‘really cute’. </em>“Lysithea, yes?”</p>
<p>“Y-yeah!” Another pause.<em> “...How </em>did you..?”</p>
<p>“She’s a frequent customer. She always comes in and gets our sweetest buns.” Mercie took a long sip of her tea while Annette was busy digesting this vital information. “She seems your type.”</p>
<p>Annette did <em> not </em> spit out her own tea, but she did make a horrendous noise as it scalded her tongue. It was a sound that would have put a cat’s throat clogged with hairballs to shame. <em> “Mercie!” </em> She set down her cup very firmly. “I do <em> not </em>have a type!”</p>
<p>“Hmm?” Mercie continued to drink. Were it not for Annette knowing her as well as she did, she would have missed the glimmer of amusement in her warm eyes. “It must be a coincidence, then, that almost all of your crushes have had silver or blue hair—”</p>
<p>“We are <em> not </em>discussing this,” Annette mumbled with burning ears.</p>
<p>“I remember - oh, what was his name... “ Mercie trailed off, fully knowing his name.</p>
<p>
  <em> “Dooooon’t.” </em>
</p>
<p>“Felix! And Dedue, too. And that woman who comes in sometimes - Edelgard, I think? I still remember the first time you saw her as she came in, and you dropped your biscuit in your drink—”</p>
<p>
  <em> “Meeeeeeercie—” </em>
</p>
<p>“And you went running off to the toilets, you were that embarrassed.” Mercie giggled. “You’re so cute, Annie.”</p>
<p>“And you’re <em> so evil, </em>Mercie.”</p>
<p>“And cute!”</p>
<p>“...And cute,” Annette grumpily admitted. Throwing Mercie a dirty look, she finished off her tea.</p>
<p>“Annie?”</p>
<p>“Hmm?”</p>
<p>“If she ever upsets you, Annie, please tell me.” Mercie closed her eyes with a smile. “I’ll take care of it.”</p>
<p>Chills shuddered down Annette’s spine. “Jeez, Mercie, do you have to word it like <em> that? </em>You make it sound like you’d kill her!”</p>
<p>Mercie just hummed. A lot of people seemed to forget that she could be, frankly, terrifying at times.</p>
<p>“A-also, we’re not together! Don’t make it sound like we <em> are!” </em></p>
<p>“You <em> could </em>do something to change that,” Mercie said. “Look at Ingrid and I. All of you had to force us together, we were that adamant in ignoring it.”</p>
<p>“Well, it wasn’t really <em> you.” </em> Annette shrugged. “It was more…” She waved her hand in that exact gesture all people did when referring to something everybody <em> knew </em> about, but nobody wanted to express in actual words. <em> “Y’know.” </em></p>
<p>“Our society’s overwhelming heteronormativity and Ingrid’s internal homophobia?” came Mercie’s immediate reply.</p>
<p><em> “...Something </em>like that, yeah.”</p>
<p>“You needn’t start off with anything dramatic.” Mercie hummed.</p>
<p>“I know, I know, I just…” Annette sighed. “I want it to be as good as possible. I don’t even know if I want to ask her out yet! You <em> know </em>how easily I crush on people! It’ll probably be gone by next week.”</p>
<p>It would most certainly not be gone by next week, but Annette didn’t know that yet.</p>
<p>Mercie didn’t offer any words. Just another pensive hum.</p>
<p>“...What?”</p>
<p>“Oh, nothing,” Mercie said breezily. Just - if you <em> do </em>end up wishing to date her out, do something small. Don’t overwhelm her. Ask her out to food, or something like that." Mercie smiled. "If she doesn't agree, it won't be a big deal."</p>
<p>"You're right! I should do that!"</p><hr/>
<p>Annette did not do that.</p>
<p>Instead, she visited for a few more months, as autumn's dying leaves stretched into the nipping chill of winter, to the budding plants and cold sunlight of early spring. Lysithea wasn't working every day, of course, but when she was, she was always delighted to see Annette. If she was with a customer, she'd finish up with them hurriedly in a manner that <em> could, </em>perhaps, be seen as unprofessional, or shove them onto another member of staff before darting over to Annette. As Annette pretended to be looking at products, reading the ingredients list of soaps and masks ten times over, they would chatter about anything and everything. Some of the things Annette discovered were, in no particular order:</p>
<p>Number one. Lysithea was also pansexual, although in her own words it was just "I really don't care about a person's gender". So - pansexual! (She was also single.)</p>
<p>Number two. She hated horror films and ghosts and all of that kind of stuff even more than Annette did, and that was a <em> lot. </em></p>
<p>Number three. They both studied chemical engineering at the same university. Annette was specialising in energy engineering, Lysithea in nuclear engineering, but Annette was still surprised that she hadn’t seen Lysithea around. White hair wasn’t a common hair colour at all. If she’d seen it in a crowd, she definitely would have noticed.</p>
<p>Lysithea had confessed, voice subdued, that she didn’t attend a lot of classes due to her less than ideal health. She had chronic illness, and it would flare up without warning and make her spend days in bed or barely able to get out of it. She’d said all of this without looking at Annette, and had startled when Annette rested her hand over hers in comfort. She may not have been able to understand <em> what </em> Lysithea was going through, but being able to juggle that along with university <em> and </em> a job..?</p>
<p>"You're really strong," she had said. Lysithea's eyes widened, and so, of course, Annette had to immediately ruin it by saying: "Like a rock!"</p>
<p>“...A rock,” Lysithea repeated, voice flat.</p>
<p>“A <em> really </em>strong rock!” Annette continued, because she had no regard for her own life. “Like… a boulder!”</p>
<p>“I’m pretty sure they’re all made of the same material,” Lysithea said, but she was smiling a lovely kind of smile Annette hadn’t ever seen her give anyone else. It was the kind of look that made your stomach knot itself over and over again, made your mind overflow with the singular, repeating thought of <em> “maybe she does like me after all”. </em></p>
<p>It had now been about four months since she'd first met Lysithea. Annette hadn't said anything to Mercie about chickening out, but every time they met up, that silent question in her eyes was like burning coals on her skin.</p>
<p>Annette was no longer going to be a coward.</p>
<p>Today, she was going to ask Lysithea out.</p>
<p>(...Maybe.)</p>
<p>She had a plan in her head, one painstakingly crafted out in fragments of late nights and daydreams in class (and she’d seen Lysithea a few times in class, but she’d always been too terrified of appearing overbearing that she never said hello). It was a plan that would take far too many paragraphs to type up fully, for her or for anyone else; needless to say, it was <em> long. </em> Every detail had been carefully considered. She would <em> not </em>mess this up.</p>
<p>Which was, of course, why she messed it up immediately.</p>
<p>“Lysie’s on <em> break?” </em>Annette cried.</p>
<p>Claude’s eyebrows raised. <em> “...Lysie?” </em>they parroted. “If I called her that, why, I don’t think I’d have a mouth by the end of whatever sentence I was saying.”</p>
<p>“She <em> told </em>me to call her that,” Annette said sternly. She rested her hands on her hips. “So I’m gonna call her that!”</p>
<p>“Hey, hey. I didn’t say it was a problem, did I?” If anything, Claude seemed more amused than annoyed.</p>
<p>“I… guess not.” Annette sighed. “Ah, I need to drop a book off at the library, like, <em> now, </em>but I really wanted to see her.” All of her hopes were falling to ash…</p>
<p>Of course, there was no particular reason <em> why </em> Annette had to ask her out <em> today. </em>She just knew that if she didn’t do it now, all of her courage would abandon her, and she would spend the rest of her days quietly pining and dying.</p>
<p>She wouldn’t, not really, but she had always tended to be somewhat dramatic in even the most mundane of matters.</p>
<p>“She’ll be delighted to see you,” Claude said. Before Annette could cry or object or make any noise at all, they sauntered off towards the backroom and stuck their head in. “Oi, <em> Lysie—” </em></p>
<p>A bar of soap flew out of the room and thudded the ground next to them, barely missing them. Annette yelped. Claude didn’t even blink.</p>
<p>Instead, they turned to Annette with a wink. “Told ya, didn’t I?”</p>
<p>She didn’t have time to fully unpack that statement, because by the time she had done freaking out because oh <em> goddess </em> she was interrupting Lysithea during her <em> break, </em> and surely she had way better things to do than talk to Annette, Lysithea was - well. In front of her. About to talk to Annette. Claude all-but-danced back to the till and simply shrugged off their co-worker’s - Lorenz, Annette had learnt - very <em> done </em> look. It was a look Felix used to give everyone on the planet, apart from herself, and oh <em> goddess Annette did not have time to unpack that either— </em></p>
<p>“Hey, Annette,” Lysithea said casually. She had some food smudged around her mouth; tomato pasta sauce, from the looks of it. It should not have been cute.</p>
<p>It was very cute.</p>
<p>“H-hey Lysie!” Annette squeaked. The window nearby trembled from how high her voice was. “I-I just - um - I…”</p>
<p>Lysithea blinked and tilted her head slightly. “Hmm? What is it?”</p>
<p>“I’m <em> so </em>sorry you probably have way better things to do I’m interrupting your break—”</p>
<p>“It’s fine,” Lysithea interrupted, looking a bit, understandably, freaked out. “But… what is it? You’re sweating buckets.” She rested a hand on Annette’s forehead, frowning, and it took Annette everything she had to not simply combust on the spot, like the world’s weakest nuclear fission reaction. “You definitely feel hot…”</p>
<p>“I’m not hot!” Annette insisted. “I - um.” <em> Oh gosh dang it for the love of Sothis it just GO for it, </em> she told herself. “W-w-when do you, um, uh, finish work? D-do you have... <em> plans?” </em></p>
<p>Her voice definitely didn’t break at the end. Annette mentally high-fived herself for a very smooth performance.</p>
<p>The visible confusion on Lysithea’s face only grew.</p>
<p>"I started early, so I finish at three." Lysithea tucked her earphones underneath the collar of her shirt. Her eyes were focused on Annette and nothing else. "And, no. I don’t have plans.” There was a silence, in which Annette knew she was meant to speak, but her tongue was twisted upon itself in at least five consecutive layers. Lysithea, the sweet soul that she was, took mercy on her. “...Is there any reason why you ask?"</p>
<p>It was twenty to three now. Annette swallowed.</p>
<p><em> Now or never, Annie, </em>she told herself. Her mouth was dry. Her body was sweating. Oh, goddess, what if there were sweat patches on her—</p>
<p>
  <em> Don't get distracted! </em>
</p>
<p>"I know you like sweets," she blurted out, digging her nails into her palms and refusing to look up from Lysithea's rugged shoes. Little boots with a slight heel, as if she <em> really </em>needed the extra height—</p>
<p>
  <em> Stop it! </em>
</p>
<p>"M-my best friend - she's the <em> best—"  </em> Of course she was the best Annette that was the literal definition of 'best friend' <em> please stop embarrassing yourself— </em>"runs a sweet shop with a few friends near here and Iwaswonderingifyou'dliketocomewithme."</p>
<p>For a few seconds, there was silence. With dread coiling in her stomach, Annette glanced up, slowly, apologies already posed to spill from her lips—</p>
<p>Lysithea was <em> beaming. </em> She looked surprised, eyes wide, but she was also grinning from ear-to-ear. Her dimples were in full force, Annette suddenly noticed. Oh, they were <em> adorable </em>dimples.</p>
<p>"I'd - I'd <em> love </em> to!" Lysithea grasped her hand, seemed to remember herself, and yanked away with a furious blush. "A-ahem. I mean.” Her ears were practically crimson. “Yes. <em> Yes!” </em></p>
<p>Annette clutched her hands against her chest, and proceeded to ask, quite possibly, the most stupid question she’d ever asked. "So - that's a yes!?"</p>
<p>"Absolutely!" Lysithea pumped her fists. "Wait outside for me. I'd <em> love </em>to come with you!"</p>
<p>"Finally!" Claude yelled from behind the counter. Without looking, Lysithea hurled a bar of Dragon's Breath at them. Thankfully, the shop was devoid of customers save for Annette, so they just grabbed it with a wide smile.</p>
<p>“You <em> knew!?” </em>Annette shrieked.</p>
<p>“It was the ‘Lysie’,” came their smug reply. “Said it all, really.”</p>
<p>“Enough of <em> them,” </em>Lysithea hissed. She grabbed on Annette’s hand and tugged her into the corner, away from any prying eyes. A smile spread over her face, melting away the frost in her eyes.</p>
<p>To have that warmth directed at <em> her, </em>and nobody else… it was a bit much. Annette swallowed down the lump in her throat.</p>
<p>“Thank you, Annie,” Lysithea whispered - then startled. “I-is it okay? If I call you that..?”</p>
<p>“O-oh! Of course!” Annette couldn’t help giggling, her shoulders shaking. “That’s… really sweet of you.”</p>
<p>“I <em> have </em> been calling you that in my mind, so it’s a relief to be able to say it out loud.” Lysithea gave a shy giggle of her own. “I… you’re <em> so </em>wonderful, Annie.”</p>
<p>“Hush, you! So are you!”</p>
<p>Lysithea laughed, her dimples showing again. Annette really needed to stop talking about them. “I won’t argue with that. I need to finish my lunch, but I’ll see you later!”</p>
<p>“Yeah! See ya at three!”</p>
<p>Annette’s face must have gone through every possible hue of red when Lysithea left a chaste smooch on her cheek. She had to lean down slightly to do so, and Annette was keenly aware of their height difference in that single moment, <em> especially </em>with Lysithea’s stupid heels.</p>
<p>“I’ll see you later!” Annette blurted. She definitely spat in Lysithea’s face.</p>
<p>But Lysithea just laughed again, her voice and skin alight with a warmth and life that Annette had so rarely seen from her before. She gave Annette a final, lingering smile before turning the corner to the backroom.</p>
<p>The world suddenly felt colder. Annette held a palm to her cheek, where Lysithea had kissed her, and smiled goofily.</p>
<p><em> "MERCIE," </em> she texted while being chewed out by the librarian for yet <em> another </em> late book return, <em> "I’VE GOT A GIRLFRIEND!!!! :O :O :DDDDDDDDDD” </em></p>
<p>
  <em> “i think???????” </em>
</p>
<p>Mercie’s reply was immediate: <em> “took you long enough! :)” </em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>enjoyed this fic? please consider leaving a kudos and/or comment!! they go a long way (comments especially!) in keeping us writers healthy and well-fed!!</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/greenpiggles">i also have a twitter! come say hi if you wanna</a> and have a wonderful day! :3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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